Not Just Another Spanglish Story
by Nephthys of Irkalla
Summary: Jade's failing her Spanish course and if she hates something with a passion, it's being bad at something - and the people who acknowledge it. She's running out of time to save her grades from their impending fate. She needs a Spanish speaker ASAP. And Tori's the only one she would entrust her dignity to - and, the one person willing to put up with her attitude, too. Jori! Beta'd!
1. The Spanish Test

_**Disclaimer:**_ _[The TV show] Victorious belongs to Dan Schneider. I'm not making a living off this. I don't own the movie titles or any brand-name you might find in this fic, either._

 **Inf.:** the movie is _'The book of life'_ by Guillermo Del Toro.

This story has been beta'd. If you find any mistake please PM me.

 ** **Not Just Another Spanglish Story.****

 ** **-1-****

It all started during an almost irrelevant day at Hollywood Arts. As usual, the flood of students, easily confused with a noisy horde of giggling kids, marched towards their respective lockers and groups of friends.

Nevertheless, all the movement and noise came to a halt when a pair of shiny combat boots, and heavy footsteps, made their way through the halls. There, with a cup of coffee in her right hand, stood the very terror of the school. A beautiful pale girl whose name was Jade West.

Her eyes swiftly scoured the perimeter, looking for a certain noodle-armed girl. And, in her deluded mind, it was preferable if said girl wasn't around her, ever, at all. But deep inside, she knew it was just a cruel lie she was trying to make herself believe. A lie that could cost her an opportunity to be truly happy.

Of course, she still heaved a sigh of relief when she didn't see __miss noodle arms__ in the corridors. She already didn't feel like anybody's friend that day – let alone in the mood to deal with her __girl__ crush.

Straight away, she walked languidly up to her locker, the one and only decorated with scissors and opened it to take out a pair of books which she hastily shoved into the bag that hung off her right shoulder. When she shut the locker's door and turned around, she came face to face with the scrutinizing gaze of Beck Oliver, her ex-boyfriend – and in other to conceal the scream of terror that had threatened to tear through her throat, she had bitten her tongue. However, much to her annoyance, he seemed amused by her reaction.

''You look tired.'' He said with a half smirk as he leant against the lockers.

''Really? I haven't noticed.'' She rolled her eyes at him which only served to make his smile broader. __Like I don't have a freaking mirror at home.__

''Why so grumpy?'' The boy squinted at her, probably trying to figure her out. She detested when people did that __to her__.

''That's none of your business, __Oliver Twist__.'' She said, annoyed, and turned around to walk away from him. Although their break-up, months ago, had been a mutual decision, she still felt a small pang of hatred towards the boy.

 _ _That's how exes are supposed to treat each other__. She believed.

It had nothing to do with the fact that he had tried to kiss the noodle-armed girl on multiple occasions. Not at all. But deep down, she knew it was jealousy masked as hatred – she also knew that she didn't actually hate him; she just disliked him, __a tiny bit__ , lately.

''Is it because you're failing the Spanish course?'' Asked him almost without realising the big slip of the tongue he made; he was meant to ask her what was wrong, not __that__. Because if Jade West hated something with a passion, it was her being bad at something – __and the people who acknowledged it.__

After a moment of uncomfortable silence, he tacked on.

''Cat told me. Don't get mad at her, she was asking me for advice on how to give you, you know, some advice.'' He said nonchalantly, and almost face palmed himself after he realised what he had just let out. He unconsciously betrayed his perky friend – of course, being the cool guy he was, he kept his façade of __impassibility__ while he ran his hands through his soft hair.

He hoped that if he stopped talking, maybe, just maybe, Jade wouldn't get that mad at Cat or at him.

But Beck knew better than that. And when the Goth gazed in his direction with her unwavering cold eyes, he shivered internally. Nevertheless, when her brain synapsed, in only microseconds because she was not Cat, her nostrils flared; had she been a cartoon character probably some steam would've been coming out of her ears and her eyes widened and her pointy eyebrows seemed dangerously sharper at the moment. Beck Oliver almost feared they were going to chop some chunks of her skin.

 _ _Yep.__ Jade West was livid.

''This is why I never tell her anything! She doesn't know how to keep her mouth shut.'' Snapped the pale girl as she turned on her heels so as to look for a certain redheaded girl.

 _ _I'll slice her tongue open and then…!__ She thought, but she didn't actually mean it. She was only seething at the girl that was __supposed__ to keep her secrets, secret.

But before she could find and scare the living hell out of Cat Valentine, she heard something that grasped her attention, instantly. And, Beck who was still standing beside her, heard the same thing and tilted his face towards Jade, smiling brightly at the pale girl.

Right in front of them was Tori Vega, also known as the __noodle-armed girl__ and __miss perfect__ , walking almost in circles with a PearPhone pressed against her right ear while she spoke words no English speaker could understand – unless they spoke __angry__ Spanish.

''Sí, papá. Entiendo. No, no estoy molesta… sí, sí entiendo. Ya… vale, yo también te quiero. ¡Adios!'' Said the half-Latina as she finished the call in a rush, in order to run to the girl's bathroom; because she really needed to take a wazz.

''Are you thinking what I'm thinking?'' Murmured the actor to the Goth, who felt his hot breath caressing the shell of her ear – thing that made her scoot over from the boy with distaste, as she contracted her shoulders involuntarily, so as to protect her ears.

She relaxed immediately, of course. It's worth mentioning that she was glad her __reaction__ went unnoticed by Beck.

''Coercing Vega into taking my test?'' She hissed back, yet a part of her was delighted by the prospect. Because it was Tori, her crush, they were talking about; and to make it all the better, the half-Latina could possibly help her with her little __dilemma__.

''Nup. You could talk to her, though. She can help you…'' He murmured, scratching his nape. Sometimes he was __only__ a pretty face, at least, that was what the Goth thought.

''Yeah, as if!'' She forced a sardonic chuckle through her throat, clearly unamused by her ex's unhelpful advice. ''Now, really, which pair of scissors do you like better for the job? I'm thinking about the pair Cat got me for my birthday… I really want to test them on __fresh__ flesh.'' Said the pale girl as she reached into her messenger bag and fished out of it, three scissors of different colours.

He noticed that these weren't the child-safe ones, definitely; he also noticed how polished and sharp their blades seemed to be and to top it all they were glimmering, all right.

''I'm serious. Just ask her, okay?'' Beck was eyeing, warily, the potential weapons in her ex's hands.

She smirked.

''Miss Sally Sweet Peaches is going to say __nope__.'' She said popping the __P__ and mocking an oblivious Tori with a fake southern accent impression.

''If you don't try you'll never know. She doesn't say __no__ when I ask for help.'' He said, smiling at the obviously fake voice. It did sound a bit like Tori, according to him.

''Oh, yeah! Because I'm Beck and I only have to flip my __fluffy__ hair and everybody agrees to my every whim!'' Mocked the Goth with a clearly, but still awesome, fake male voice.

He was not amused, __anymore__.

''What?'' Beck was still staring at her with a stoic expression on his face. ''Okay, first, stop looking at me that way!'' She snapped at him, but he just continued to stare at her. ''Fine! I'll talk to her. How hard can it be, anyway? It's only Vega.'' She knew it could be really hard.

A part of her still __hated it__ when he judged her, and, somehow, his silence was way worse than his judgemental glare. She needed to shut him up, even if he wasn't talking whatsoever.

''Just… don't take your scissors with you, okay?'' His typical sing-song voice filled her ears and she couldn't help rolling her eyes hard. Definitely, she was __not__ in love with him anymore.

''Sure thing!'' She said in a mocking fashion as she twirled a pair of scissors around her pointer finger and walked farther and farther away; but not too away because the girl's bathroom was only a few feet away. At some point, she hid a pair of scissors in the waistband of her skirt and threw the others into her bag.

Yet, before she could venture into a sea of people in order to blend with the crowd because she thought it'd be easier to ambush the half-Latina that way, she heard Beck's voice, loud and clear, calling her.

''And, just try being nice for once! It might work!'' Indeed, his words were pure gold.

 _ _He upchucks pure wisdom whenever he opens his mouth__ , thought the girl in a sarcastic fashion. However, she managed not to look that very annoyed at him. Another sarcastic smile would do.

''Just so you know, you make a better comedian than you do an actor!'' She yelled back at him, her words aiming to hurt his ego. But the boy was too used to her cruelty to get hurt anymore, so he just rolled his eyes in response. __Maybe he was spending too much time with the ganky girl.__

At that precise moment, Jade had become a woman with a mission. She was going to take Tori to the janitor's closet, talk to her and convince the tanned girl to take the Spanish exam for her.

What she didn't expect was chickening when her crush came out of the bathroom with a smile of relief on her face. A beautiful smile, according to the Goth. Her plan __had__ sounded way easier in her mind.

''Vega.'' Her mouth spoke, actually, __bellowed__ before she could stop herself. The taller girl of the two, the one who was acting all miss perfect as she paraded to her __make it shine__ locker while she was looking at the screen of her PearPhone, jumped; completely startled.

''M-morning!'' Stuttered Tori who looked like a deer caught in the headlights. Her monster purse clutched firmly against her chest as if it were some sort of shield keeping her frenzied heart from jumping out of her body. ''You scared the chiz out of me…'' Muttered the girl with a small smile after she realised that it was, indeed, only Jade.

Jade West, of course, only cleared her throat as if to get some inexistent point across. However, the half-Latina understood her all the same.

''Yes, Jade?'' Asked with her typical __good girl__ smile.

''Give me your arm!'' Demanded the younger, and paler girl.

''What? Why? Wh-'' Jade took her arm and yanked her in the direction of the janitor's closet, almost mopping the floor with the girl she was dragging along. ''Jammit! Just be careful, that's my arm you're disjointing!'' Whined the half-Latina who was not really in any real pain; actually, she was enjoying the situation a bit too much.

Another forceful and unexpected yank at her arm made her groan with pain.

''That's the one I use to take notes, Jade!'' Said Tori, annoyingly, as Jade shoved her inside the room and closed the door behind them.

''Relax, Vega. I'm not going to murder or kidnap you unless you give me a reason to do so. Well… not now, at least… not when I might... Err, do you remember that favour you said you owed me?'' Said the beautiful pale girl as she fidgeted nervously with the strap of her messenger bag trying to buy Vega into helping her.

''Wait, I don't owe you anything, Jade, that's Cat… Okay, okay, it doesn't matter. Just tell me what's bothering you?'' Asked the Latina with a small smile playing on her lips.

''Well, I… I'm going to be travelling to New York in a week because my mother wants me to visit my grandmother who's practically dying. Every ticking of the clock just takes her closer to her death… my poor old grannie is barely hanging onto life, Tori. And my mother needs me for moral support. The problem is, there's this big test and…'' She said, almost without breathing, and the continued in one breath. ''And I need someone to take it for me – Sadly, the only person I can trust this with, is you.'' She lied through and through.

If Tori hadn't known beforehand about Jade's intentions, she probably would've bought her little-elaborated act. But Beck was a good friend, and he was terrible at keeping secrets. To be honest, he had sent her a text message explaining the situation.

''Are you aware that Beck told me already you were dreading the upcoming Spanish test?'' Inquired the half-Latina with a mischievous glint in her eyes. She was enjoying the situation more than words could describe.

''That wazzbag! I'm so going to rip his hair off!'' Jade said and then tried to storm out the closet while she, automatically, reached out for the scissors; the ones that were hidden in her skirt waistband.

''Hold your corsets, West!'' Tori held out her open hands, in a gesture that universally meant __to stop__ ; as if she was trying to keep Jade from hurting her __ex__.

The Goth girl's mouth opened slightly and her eyebrows knitted together as if to try to make any sense to the tanned girl's words.

''It is: __hold your horses__ , not your __corsets__.'' Then she groaned. '' _ _Corsets!__ '' Scoffed. ''That doesn't even make sense.'' The Goth slid her blue-handled scissors into the waistband, once again.

''Really?'' The poor girl actually seemed dumbfounded. Her mouth was slightly ajar, and her brows were curled in surprise upon her wide-open, to a ridiculous extent, eyes. ''But I thought that these women had to prevent these thingies from falling off their… ugh, never mind that. What's actually important is that I have a proposition for you.''

The Goth found the whole array of expressions that crossed the tanned girl's face to be extremely adorable – albeit, she would __never__ , ever, admit that out loud; not even to herself.

''About what, exactly?'' She said as she lifted her left eyebrow, the one that was pierced, at Tori Vega who just smiled back at her. And, the pale girl fought the desire to roll her eyes - not because she actually wanted to, to be honest, the action itself was mostly instinctive.

''Well, I may have an idea on how to help you, so-'' Tacked on the brunette, but was cut off by the Goth's hoarse voice.

Jade furrowed her brow and rose her hand almost in front of Tori's face, mimicking Tori's previous actions – __stopping her.__

''Hold that tongue, Vega. I don't do hugs, friendships, happy stuff and I am definitely not doing __whatever you're about to suggest.__ '' She managed to interrupt the half-Latina's speech and spurn her advances all at once.

''All right. If you want to fail…'' Tantalised the tanned girl with a __tsk__ so to boost the impact of her words.

''Fine, just make it quick!'' Answered an exasperated Goth as she raised her hands to the sky, just to let them fall in a lacklustre way, to her sides, seconds later – of course, she was just trying to emphasise her annoyance in a cartoonish fashion.

Tori beamed and proceeded further into the conversation.

''I could tutor you, help you with the nuances of the language. And, as you may know, I speak Spanish fairly well, so…'' She stopped talking as she locked eyes with the pale girl. She loved Jade's pale shades of blue, and how the green mingled with the grey creating the most beautiful set of eyes in the whole round world.

Jade was leery about the intentions behind the sweet-faced girl; Tori was sweet all right, but behind every kind, and amiable face was something dark lurking in the back. It was an irrational fear and she knew it, of course, because Tori __freaking perfect__ Vega would never do something bad to her, not intentionally; let alone when said girl had had so many opportunities to do it – to strike back.

The problem was that no one was __that__ good just because. After all, every single gift she had received in her short life had come with a price attached to it – __be it figuratively or literally__.

''Go on, tell me what's the catch already!'' Demanded the girl as she leant against the wooden door, which creaked under her weight – thing that made her cringe internally. ''Jeez, you'd make a terrible salesperson… what has happened to __luring the victim in__ and then throwing the __buy my product__ bomb at them?'' Tacked on the girl, masking her nervousness with rudeness.

Tori heaved a sigh of annoyance as she closed her eyes wearily. But the Goth tapping her foot on the floor helped her gather enough courage to open her mouth and spit out everything she wanted to say.

''Okay, okay.'' She started, her throat suddenly dry. ''Well, Jade, we've known each other for quite a while, and I consider you as one of my closest friends. And-''

''Oh, no! You can shove your friendship speech up your-'' But was cut out mid-sentence by the beautiful angry voice of her crush. She didn't mind being interrupted that much – only if Tori was the one doing the interruption; the others, also known __as the rest of the world__ , didn't share those benefits.

''Stop interrupting me!'' Chastised the brunette, starting to get really annoyed. ''Anyway, what I want in return is respect. I want you to respect me and treat me like the friend I know I am to you.'' She said, took a deep breath and continued. ''Also I want you to give me one single hug when you ace your exam and don't make it a rib-crushing one this time.'' Tori's eyes screamed mischief, but her smile was still the same __sugary good girl smile__ she had always had.

Jade West frowned as the skin on the bridge of her nose wrinkled considerably as if she were smelling something funky. She crossed her arms over her chest and closed herself to the world. And, as though that hadn't been enough, she shook her head to emphasise her point.

 _ _No.__

Jade pictured the half-Latina rubbing her palms in a circular motion all over her back. And the Goth shivered at the reverie. Undoubtedly, she didn't want the younger Vega's hands touching her in those hideous __friendly__ ways. Nevertheless, she kept her cool.

''Yikes! Let's just get this over with…'' was what she managed to get out with an unwavering voice. However, she didn't move an inch.

''Uh nupe! I said when you ace your exam.'' The half-Latina clicked her tongue twice as she raised her right hand and held her index finger alongside her face as she motioned them from side to side. Saying __no__. __Denying Jade.__

''Whatevs.'' Jade rolled her eyes. ''I got things to do, people to rip loose lips' from, and stupid hair to maul before the first period. So, get lost, Vega.'' She said in her typical cruel, low, and oh-so-sexy voice that always made Tori all malleable and soft like melted cheese. __In Jade's jargon, it clearly meant, see you later.__

 _ _What did I get myself into?__ Wondered the Spanish speaker while looking intently at the retreating and curvy figure of her __dark__ frenemy.

Tori was left standing there, with a stupid smile on her face, almost daydreaming about the Goth. She was so engrossed in her thoughts that she almost didn't hear the loud ringing bell signalling the start of the school day.

 _ _So worth it.__

* * *

During the course of the day, Tori fought to keep herself from showing too much happiness lest she would give away her intentions to the Goth. Of course, she was going to help Jade out of the goodness of her heart, but she knew she was going to get something juicy out of the situation herself – in other words, she was going to spend countless hours helping the girl she liked.

 _ _Probably I could try to win her over.__ Thought the half-Latina, humouring herself with the prospects of dating the ever mean Jade West.

And, even though it had been a long day and she was tired, she felt giddy and could barely contain her excitement – her pounding heart was a clear symptom of her __disease__. Her plan was to have as many __not-quite-real__ dates with the pale girl – the closer they were, the higher her chances became.

At the end of the school day, the brown-eyed girl was standing awkwardly beside the spooky locker of the girl she was waiting for, with a large cup of a __not yet savoured__ coffee in her right hand.

Although she didn't have to wait too much because Jade's reverberating footsteps alerted the girl of her impending fate. __It's time__ , she said to herself.

Jade didn't even acknowledge Tori's presence, she walked right past her and stopped by her locker so to throw the __seemingly useless__ books inside.

''What are you looking at, Vega!?'' spat the Goth, her blue orbs were fixated on Tori's face, however, something else seemed to have caught her attention. Indeed, she licked her lips at the sight of a delicious cup of coffee in her crush's hand.

''Nothing, nothing… uh ¿quieres? Lo he comprado para ti. '' Tori spoke as slowly as she could, so Jade could understand while a small smile played on her lips. Forthwith Tori rose the coffee cup and offered it to the Goth who took it between her hands and sighed contently.

''What did you just say?'' Asked the girl referring to the Spanish bit of the conversation; then she took the cup to her lips and drunk or, more to the point, slurped the brownish liquid. It was sweltering still, and she loved it that way. The hotter, the tastier. ''Nice… you got it right for once, Vega. Black with two sugars.'' It was as close as she was getting to ' _ _thank-ing'__ Tori Vega for something.

''We've got a long way to go.'' Muttered the half-Latina, dejectedly. Knowing full well that Jade really needed her help to ace that darned exam. ''Okay, let's get down to business…'' She said singingly, completely __dork-ing__ herself __out__.

''Stop quoting Disney movies!''

''You've watched them. I knew it!'' Blurted out the tanned girl, and then cleared her throat under the intense gaze of her frenemy, who had a raised a questioning eyebrow. ''Anyway, there's a movie you'd probably love, it's like the corpse bride but less dark and tragic.'' She gulped nervously and then tacked on. ''So, come over today at five? I promise to put on Spanish subs so you can follow what's happening. And, you can always ask me if you don't understand something.''

''It's so preposterous of you to believe that I don't have any plans for today…'' Said the pale girl as she stared at her nails, pretending not to be so utterly interested in going to the Vega's.

''Well, have you?'' Queried Tori as she, too, looked at Jade's nails, wondering what was so intriguing about them. __Is her nail polish peeling off?__ Her mind digressed momentarily.

''In fact, I do. I have to-'' Tried to explain the Goth, but, was cut off by the ever annoying Tori, again. And the pale girl was not best pleased this time around.

''Gosh, you're just being difficult! I'm only trying to help you out, Jade. You know? If you don't want to come over, that's okay… to be honest-'' This time was Jade who got the pleasure to interrupt her. The Goth was smiling wickedly in her insides.

''So, you're implying that since Beck and I split I don't have a social life, is that it?!'' Guilt tripping Tori was one of her favourite activities. She enjoyed the utter look of shock on Tori's face, even if she tried to disguise it, Jade was __that__ good at reading emotions.

''No, no!'' lied the half-Latina through her teeth as she held her hands up in surrender, trying to keep her voice as steady as possible and her eyes from wandering around. __Maybe I do.__ She guiltily thought. ''I'm just saying that I know for a fact that you don't have anything to do today because I checked out your Slap profile this morning and, gasp, I read your last post which says, and I quote, __not looking forward to making another what I hate video. I hate them.__ '' Tori smiled sheepishly.

Jade simply raised her left eyebrow and fought tooth and nail against herself to keep the corners of her mouth from lifting in a smile, too.

A part of Tori was afraid to be yelled at or ignored on by the girl she had in front, after all, she called Jade's bluff.

None of these __possible outcomes__ came true, of course.

''Well, well, well, Vega. You're not only bilingual and Trina's sister, who's an __A1 stalker__ , but a stalker yourself too?'' A small silence followed that statement. ''That says a lot about your family.'' Tori's cheeks rendered red with shame. ''Fine, I'll be there roughly at five.''

And Tori could've almost sworn she saw the ghost of a wink on her crush's face right before the girl turned around and walked away.

 _ _What am I gonna wear tonight!?__ Pondered the half-Latina with a crease of worry drawing on her forehead. She had just been referred to as a stalker, but little did she care, after all, she was way too grateful that this time, Jade didn't use that stupid voice on her.

* * *

Over the course of the evening, Tori learnt, thanks to a fellow classmate, that the Goth's test was to take place in nine days. Too short a time for wooing someone, although, long enough to end up with a pair of broken legs and probably some scissor-shaped scars all over her body.

When the clock ticked five and a half, the tanned girl was worried Jade wouldn't show up whatsoever; and she was even lamenting that she bought Jade's favourite popcorn's brand. However, the wrinkles of worry marrying her forehead faded away when, an hour later, someone at the other side of the front door tried to break into her house, only to yell a big loud '' _ _Vega!''__ followed by a series of knocks on the door when it remained unopened.

Immediately Tori, who was bouncing with happiness, opened the door and hold it for the mean girl that was looking at her with a scowl on her face. The black-clad girl entered without being invited to come in, but that was Jade West after all. This girl would never stop to confuse and amaze Tori all at the same time.

Nothing was going to wipe that smile off her __silly__ face, as Jade would state, later that night. And to be fair, Tori was babbling excitedly about the movie, even if Jade hated her babbling and had commented on it, the tanned girl couldn't bring herself to hush, not even for a minute.

Till jade pressed Tori's lips together between her pale thumb and index finger.

 _ _Did she take Cat's special vitamins or something?__ Wondered the Goth.

''Enough jawing, Vega. Just… start the danged movie!'' spat the Goth, she rolled her eyes and sighed in fake annoyance while she plopped herself on the red couch; straight away, she lifted her feet so to put them on the coffee table that laid ahead.

Tori frowned, but she was too darned happy that she smiled, nonetheless, as she pressed the __play button__ ; starting the cartoon movie.

Throughout the movie, neither girl spoke to each other. However, a lot of __awws__ , coming from Tori, and some small and poorly concealed chuckles coming from Jade, were the only form of communication between the girls. __The book of life__ was __that__ good.

'' _ _¿Qué aprendiste?__ '' Asked the half-Latina in Spanish, and then she explained what it meant in English. ''It means, __what did you learn?__ ''

''Uhm, let me see. Probably the most important piece of information I gathered from the movie was that they eat churros __glaceados__.'' She joked, remembering that particular scene from the movie where the Pidgeon pooped all over the perfectly unglazed churros.

Tori made a __cute__ face and Jade rolled her eyes. Because _ _Tori Vega was such a baby.__

''Uh, yeah, that part was somewhat displeasing.'' Said the half-Latina, her selection of words making the pale girl chuckle.

''Displeasing! Oh, god! And then you wonder why I make fun of you… well, besides the gratification I get at your expense. The point is, you make things sound so proper. Like, come on, say something __else__.'' She beckoned with her hands to Tori so the half-Latina would spill some __fancy words__ out.

''Would you rather I said __disgusting or distasteful__ , instead?'' Tori joked back with a raised eyebrow of her own, which made Jade snort, loudly. Indeed, Tori made everything sound elegant and proper and just too cute; to be fair, she could say __shit__ and it'd still sound very much ladylike. ''In Spanish disgusting translates to __desagradable__ , by the way. Oh! And, just so you know, churros are super tasty.''

Jade smirked and then they kept on talking about the movie for a while. However, at nine forty a little confession threw Tori into a laughing fit – it had been a __roll over the floor and hold your aching belly__ kind of laugh. The Goth had just __pleaded guilty__ of having a curfew at ten. Of course, picturing the ferocious Jade West following someone else's orders was something laughable according to the half-Latina. Jade, however, didn't quite agree with her, and feeling really annoyed at Tori, she sent a glare her way, hushing the half-Latina up for good.

For some reason, even though Tori had apologised several times, the tanned girl still feel bad for laughing. Jade, on the other hand, didn't seem to mind, for once – even though she threatened to use her scissors on her. Jade wasn't even angry at Tori, after all, it was not as if she could stay mad at the tanned girl. And to be honest, neither could she wipe off the stupid simper on her face, which appeared when she was least expecting cheeks were hurting.

Why were her cheeks hurting, anyway?

The only witness to her weakness was Tori, that's why she didn't care, __much__. In spite of that, the Goth was freaking the freak out internally, because, really, what was this weird warmth pooling on her chest?

Being happy was __so__ confusing, sometimes.


	2. The Non-Dates

_**Disclaimer:**_ _I own nothing. For more information, inspect the first chapter where I pulled off an amazing disclaimer thingy._

 **A/N:** The band is _La Oreja de Van Gogh._ The movies are _Dracula_ by George Melford and _The Devil's Backbone_ by Guillermo Del Toro.

 ** **-2-****

Tori was exhilarated that their first __non-date__ went so smoothly. And she couldn't wait to get the opportunity to take her dream girl everywhere in town with the excuse of __helping__ her. __Even the most altruistic of souls feels greedy every now and then,__ she figured.

This time, however, Jade had surprisingly arrived in time to her house – they had studied ever since the girl trespassed the threshold, at least, until the air turned leaden and the early excitement morphed into fatigue; since studying for hours upon hours wasn't the epitome of _ _doing somethingfun__ in their book.

''Okay, I think that's enough studying for today…'' Tori was sitting on the red couch next to the door, cross-legged and wearing a tired expression on her face as she snapped the workbook shut and laid it on the coffee table.

Jade, on the other hand, had had her legs on said table and her head resting on the __sofa arm__. The notebook on her lap had some notes written on it, however, at some point, she started doodling spirals with languidness upon the empty spaces of the page. But, at the exact moment Tori muttered those magical words – __time off__ – the Goth got up and shoved all of her things into her bag.

Although the pale girl would've called it a night, hours ago, she wanted to laze about some more in that house that, at times, was more inviting and cosier than her own. Nonetheless, before she could skedaddle back to her house, Tori stopped her.

''Eh, Jade, before you go… could you, you know, read this and give me your honest opinion about it?'' The half-Latina handed over to the Goth her literature homework, a shy expression on her face.

The pale girl skimmed through the text and when she was done, she handed it back to a confused tanned girl – the Goth had a frown of her own.

''Remove the first and last paragraph, the rest's fine.'' Said Jade to an annoyed Tori.

''But, it's a two-paragraph story!'' Whined said girl, her brown eyes gleaming dangerously as the wrinkles in her forehead deepened.

''And, what does that tell you?'' Counterattacked the Goth while rolling her eyes and tapping the floor with her right heel, annoyed.

'' _ _That you didn't read it…?__ '' was the witty remark of __miss__ __perfect__ , Vega.

''Nope… that it's terrible.'' A faux cheerful voice came rushing out of her throat, a faux-mocking voice Tori hated so much – the tanned girl had a little blush on her cheeks, a blush born out of frustration.

''I thought we were trying to be friends… you're not even being helpful.'' Her voice was drowning in disappointment, which was the last straw for Jade as the Goth felt a pang of guiltiness inside her belly. __Guilt was something she seldom felt.__

''You asked for my honest opinion. And now that you got it, you're all angry.'' Said Jade with feigned hurt – masking her own hurt with raw sarcasm.

''It's always the same with you. Maybe...'' Tori was doing it, she was guilt tripping the Goth which was seemed to be a __would-be__ ultimatum.

Jade couldn't take it anymore, and slightly taken aback, she changed tactics.

''Okay, just change the storyline…'' Said the pale girl, her petite hands shot into the air as if she was surrendering herself to the enemy. ''I mean, a character lacing his shoes and philosophising about aglets is… __chiz__. Not something people would read out of their own volition.''

''Pfff! It has to be about shoelaces.''

''What about a pair of mischievous shoelaces that enjoy playing pranks on their owner? That sounds way better than this…'' She trailed off while she signalled at Tori's homework. ''Dull and boring story.'' Jade was being more helpful than usual, and the thought alone made Tori smile broadly. However, the pale girl caught on that and panicked. ''Oh, on second thought, don't change anything. It suits you.''

And, that hit a nerve in a very __painful__ fashion.

''Must you always make fun of me? Laugh at me? __Work me up__ to anger? Is it __that__ __exciting__ to you? I mean- What I… I mean…'' Tori stopped talking at once, she thought it'd be better __'not to spread her mistake all over her face with the imaginary butter knife of shame'__ ; and, Gosh help her if she ever voiced that corny thought out loud because no one would ever allow her to live it down.

Accidental double-entendres and slips of the tongue sometimes reflected on what people were undoubtedly thinking at the moment; or so believed Jade, who had a big smirk playing on her lips, threatening to light up her face.

''Well, for starters, it was a joke. Secondly, I'm not nice. And, thirdly, I knew you were __inexperienced__ and all that jazz, but this is indeed a surprise.'' Tori needed to phrase better her sentences before blurting them out. ''Inexperienced in the __verbal__ department, that is.'' She added, making Tori all the more uncomfortable and flustered.

''Ugh, you're – you can be so…!'' Tori was blushing hard, completely speechless and humiliated by her own mouth. ''Insufferable! I don't even know why I want to be friends with a __weird gank__ like you.''

That hurt like a slap right to the face.

''You __didn't__ … First, I'm not weird, I'm just different!'' Bit back the Goth, for the first time in a very long time, the words coming from someone else's mouth hurt her. ''And, probably, you want to befriend an articulate __gank__ since you're lacking in __that__ department!'' Contrariwise, when Jade was furious she didn't lose her rhetorical artistry like most everyone did.

''I – I… I mean – You… it's – I didn't!'' Tori couldn't muster the right amount of words to express a whole idea because her brain was overheating and melting at the moment. And Jade was aggravating the situation by poking fun at her, mimicking every word and half-uttered syllable that came out of Tori's mouth. ''Stop it!''

The Goth sneered and made to go only to be stopped, once again, by a hand wrapping around her wrist, an almost imperceptible yank and a pair of glossy eyes looking into hers.

''I'm really sorry for saying you're weird… and a gank… just – just, calm down, will you?'' __Even though you are a ganky weirdo.__ Thought the half-Latina, but at the moment, she'd do anything to shut the other girl up – if Jade put her heart into it, she could be really annoying.

''Oh, no. You don't get to ask me to calm down after you've insulted me!'' Jade pulled her hand away from Tori's grasp.

''You insulted me first!''

''And, does that gives you the right to insult me back?'' Jade asked with an arched eyebrow.

''I'm sorry, okay? It just slipped out!'' The half-Latina held her own hands up, __giving up__. She knew she wouldn't win a fight like this, ever.

A dramatic silence followed such a statement, and Tori was growing shy under the icy glare of her strange friend – not for long, though.

''I'll try not to stay mad at you.''

''Thanks!'' The half-Latina relaxed her shoulders, seeming noticeably relieved.

But, Jade West was one to stand her ground, she was the one twisting people's arms not the other way around – __figuratively__.

'' _ _But__ … you owe me one for trying.'' Once again, all the black-clad girl's attention was on her black polished nails, and Tori, once again, was wondering what was __so, very__ interesting about them – clueless as she was.

'' _ _Darned manipulator__.'' Muttered the half-Latina rolling her eyes in amusement when she figured out what the pale girl was trying to do – only to be rewarded with the very dazzling smile of a very bad girl.

Jade always had a way to make things go in her __favour__.

* * *

By the third day, they had developed a habit to meeting up before school so as to practice the lessons on grammar and vocabulary – it was already Friday and, even though they'd have more time to study over the weekend, they wanted to ( _ _spend__ __every single waking moment with the other, and__ ) make the most of their time.

''I'm bored…'' Said a very tired Jade at seven in the morning as she held a hot cup of coffee between her hands. She was actually furrowing her brows, squeezing her eyes and swallowing the yawns – some tears sprinkling in her eyes.

''You're always __aburrid__ a. And, don't forget that you need to practice and practice in order to learn-'' In the early morning, Tori's voice was tainted with a wiseacre feel to it.

''How do I say, __shut up__ __because you're giving me a headache__ in Spanish?'' Had it not been for that utterly sweet voice that didn't quite suit Jade, Tori would've bitten.

''Oh, you say, __gracias por ayudarme__ ,'' was her response to Jade's passive aggressive behaviour. And what she said, actually meant __thank you for helping me out__.

''Don't try to play me for a fool, Vega! I know that __Gracias__ means __Thanks__. But, fine, don't tell me… I'll ask the ever useful Internet.'' She smirked, luscious lips curving around her perfect teeth. ''It's a better acquaintance than you, anyway.'' This time, the joke didn't go over Tori's head, who rolled her eyes playfully.

They dispersed to go to classes, and then rearranged themselves, as if they were pieces of a puzzle, at lunchtime when they decided to go eat outside – to a Spanish restaurant – because it would be both productive and entertaining – and because going to Nozu didn't sound like a good idea to Tori (honestly, she wanted to avoid running into Mrs Lee; the woman still freaked her out).

Neither of them told their friends, in the Goth's case their acquaintances, where they were going to – and, at that moment, neither girl wanted to share their happiness and friendship with anyone else.

When they were seated at their table, with the menus firmly held in their hands, Tori explained to Jade the names of some dishes that were written in Spanish. And surprisingly, the pale girl used all the smattering of Spanish she had in her head to speak to the waiter – whom she knew, would have nightmares after all the sneers and complaints the pale girl threw his way.

Nonetheless, the Goth enjoyed herself.

''It wasn't that terrible, I guess.'' Said the blue-eyed girl when they were leaving. Of course, Tori had paid for their lunch, since, according to Jade that'd be the only way the goody-two-shoes of Vega could ever repay her for being on __her best behaviour__.

 _ _Which wasn't different, at all, from her normal behaviour.__

''You see? And you even ordered your food __in Spanish__. I'm proud of you.'' A small smile of sufficiency was plastered on her reddened face, a blush taking over, and a mischievous glint in her brown eyes.

It was only a question of time until Jade gave a very expected retort.

''Don't patronise me.''

A loud snort followed close by a laugh, reverberated in the air.

Tori loved Jade's bluntness, __indeed__.

* * *

The fourth day took the form of a very bright and hot Saturday – to be fair, every day was sunny in California – and the girls were not quite enjoying another day of __teaching and learning__ , in which the mouse was educating the cat.

A sigh heaved with annoyance was followed by another – and another – and, then, by another one. Till Tori snapped her head and stared at the annoyed, __and annoying__ , pale girl. Brown eyes filled with so many unuttered questions.

''I'm not trying to be mean or anything. But this method got so old, so fast.'' Said the Goth, stifling a yawn with her hand, almost wolfing down the urge and sound.

''For once… I agree.'' Because, Tori was bored by having to teach Jade the same things over and over again. And couldn't help but nod in agreement – with her pointed finger tapping at her own jaw, she pondered what she could do in order to improve the Goth's learning experience – when a thought popped up in her mind. ''How do you like pop music? We could-''

''Don't even think about it,'' was Jade's blatant answer.

''No, really. I read somewhere that listening to music is kind of good when learning a new language. Besides, it sounds fun.'' Tori shook her head in an adorable fashion and then ran a hair through her hair, trying to think of something __useful__.

''Fine, but we're not listening to any of your bubble-gum pop,'' said Jade as she crossed her arms over her chest, her chin lifted haughtily and a little frown adorning her visage.

''Okay, okay. Just have some faith in me, will you? – I- I don't know much about the rock and __irony stuff__ you listen to, but I know this really good band… I mean, my cousin who loves punk music and rock and stuff, loves these guys.'' She fluttered her lashes and smiled, trying to convince the other girl that her idea was, in fact, __good__.

''Irony stuff?'' Scoffed the pale girl, her cheeks hurt from the effort she was putting into not smiling, however, the more she thought about it, the harder it was for her to conceal the itchy laugh caught in her throat.

Because __Jade West was an angry girl__ , not a happy one – even though it was hard sometimes – she didn't want to hurt her image any fudging more than it had already been hurt in the presence of Tori. Maybe if she sent her a gaze and thought about something unamusing, the laugh would go somewhere else – and, that she did.

''I don't know, it was something that sounded, like, __steel__ … something, er, __metallic__?''

''Well, maybe you're talking about __Metal?__ '' Jade dragged the syllables of the last word as if she were asking a question - emphasising the obvious answer to Tori's query. Her sarcastic demeanour not leaving her even for a second as a pierced eyebrow arched in superiority.

Tori blushed crimson red and plugged in her PearPod in her black music player, straight away her favourite song started blasting through the speakers and flooded the room with a sharply sweet melody.

''Turn the volume up! I can still hear my own breathing over the music.'' Demanded the sour voice of a very bored black-haired girl.

''Maybe you're breathing too hard?'' Inquired the half-Latina, jokingly. Her smile, however, faded away when her eyes locked with the other girl's. Because, a glare coming from the depths of Jade's eyes was all it took for Tori to concede to Jade's whims – and, she closed her eyes and rolled them behind her eyelids, annoyed at how __weak__ she became in the presence of the Goth.

She ended up turning the volume up, after all.

After a while, almost without realising it, both girls rose from their seats and started moving their bodies, whilst Jade moved her feet and hands, and Tori sang heartily – since the half-Latina loved and knew the lyrics by heart.

 _ _Sin tu luna. Sin tu sol. Sin tu dulce locura, me vuelvo pequeña y menuda.__

 _ _La noche te sueña y se burla; te intento abrazar y te esfumas.__

Jade's vicious mind, at some point, wondered whether she should take the PearPod and throw it on the floor, then stamp on it until it shattered to smithereens. She also thought about taking out her scissors and slice the screen to bits, just because she was showing too much happiness and emotion.

But a part of her, the part that didn't want to hurt the half-Latina, made her raise an eyebrow in question, to herself.

To her credit, she never stopped her dancing.

That, most certainly, was happiness.

* * *

The fifth day was a Sunday, a bright lazy day in the Vega's residence. The two girls were staring at each other without starting any sort of conversation. They hung out with each other almost every day, but being alone together was still, somewhat, weird.

''Well… I'm here. Now, what?'' Said Jade in a bored tone, her bag was laying on the floor, the contents scattered – after she let it fall off her shoulder with a thud. And, little did she care. Tori went to the kitchen after the microwave started beeping, annoyingly.

''Now, it's show time!'' Said the half-Latina with a bowl of popcorn on her hands that she placed on the couch, and then she pushed the play button.

Jade sat on the end of said couch, even though there were two, and took a fistful from the bowl – wolfing down the snack. And when the opening credits appeared on the TV followed by the very characteristic intro and title __Dracula__ , something weird happened when the players or the name of the actors appeared on the screen.

''Wait… __this dude__ isn't Bela Lugosi!''

''It's the Spanish version of the same film,'' was the quick response of the half-Latina, who seemed to be melting in relaxation on her seat. ''Shhh, it's starting.'' The half-Latina said with a little shush, pressing her index finger against her lips – asking for silence –, and Jade for once allowed herself to follow someone else's orders – only because the movie was worth it, __or so she told herself__.

The film was a masterpiece, and the pale girl for the life of her, couldn't take her blue eyes off the screen – for it was so very different from the English version and at the same time, it had been like experiencing a __vicarious__ déjà vu.

''There's not a chizzing moment in life that cannot be __enhanced__ with a horror movie,'' stated the pale girl at the end of the flick.

Seeing how much Jade had enjoyed the first movie, Tori didn't waste another minute before putting on another film in Spanish – only to appease the Goth's thirst for entertainment.

During the first five minutes of the movie they screened a set of very old and rusty scissors, which were attached by threads, hanging from the ceiling. That had an unexpected reaction on a certain Goth.

''What I'd do to get my hands on those beauties!'' An excited Jade West made for the most awkward moments in, probably, everyone's lives – at least, that was what Tori thought, because, really, who would've thought a two-second scene would make Jade so happy? __Certainly, not Tori.__

''Well, that was creepy.'' The tanned girl deadpanned.

''That scene wasn't even scary.'' Jade tilted her head towards Tori, so the other girl would hear her words loud and clear – however, her blue eyes never left the screen, not even when she grabbed a fistful of popcorn from the bowl that was tactically placed between the girls.

''I wasn't talking about the film…'' Muttered the half-Latina, eyes on her companion whom she found way more interesting than the flick. But when the other girl's cold eyes landed on her while she slowed down her chewing for effect, Tori gulped – clearly uncomfortable by the situation. Slow chewing could only mean trouble. ''On second thought, yeah… you're not – I mean, that wasn't creepy, at all.'' Stuttered the girl growing nervous by the minute – especially because Jade's blue eyes were still on her. ''I'll shut up, now.''

Jade nodded in approval, although she loved listening to Tori's voice, she really disliked it when people called her a weirdo – __even though she was, and she knew__. And with a smirk sliding on her mouth, she turned her face towards the screen once again.

Through the movie, the half-Latina jumped and covered her eyes with her hands whenever she saw the face of the dead boy – even though the movie, according to Jade, wasn't scary at all. Nevertheless, every time she jumped and squealed in terror, she also intentionally scooted closer and closer to her crush.

And when she wasn't screaming, she was explaining the jargon and certain grammatical constructions to the Goth.

All her mild fun was over when, at once critical moment, she got so frightened by a scene that she unconsciously took the bowl on her lap, trying not to make a mess out of it, and pressed her right side to Jade's, who was looking at her with open eyes, pointy eyebrows and an agape mouth – probably because she didn't expect Tori to have the guts to __be that physically close to her__.

''What are you doing?'' Her flat voice and inquisitive eyebrow sent shivers down Tori's spine.

''Nothing! Am just watching a good movie!'' Answered a startled Latina, shaking her head frantically as if she had been drinking some sort of energy beverage.

''You __are__ doing something... like, violating my personal space.'' After stating the obvious, the pale girl rolled her eyes but made no further movement to get away from the other girl – because Tori felt warm and comfortable against her. But that totally wasn't her style, so she tacked on, with a groan. ''Get away from me, at once. Or else, you'll see how __sharp__ my __math skills__ are!''

And, a Jade West counting from __five__ to __zero__ , before launching at someone with her scissors to shred their skin to tiny pieces, was way creepier than any freaky dead kid in a movie – even though the pale girl was unlikely to kill someone, after all, it had only been a half-hearted threat.

And, indeed, Tori did get away from her – but not too away, only enough, because their arms were brushing slightly – itching and soaring as small _ _imaginary__ blisters appeared on their skins, however, neither of them wanted the cure for their malady.

 _ _At least__ , at the end of the day, Jade had picked up ( _ _thanks to the film__ ) a new set of expletives to expand her vocabulary with.

Best Sunday, ever.

* * *

The sixth day, they were sitting on Hollywood Arts' roof – the girls were there under the pretence of having to finish their mathematics homework during the lunch break; thing which didn't seem very appealing to any of their other friends, who shrugged it off and went back to the important matter at hand – their food.

It had been easy – no one asked any question concerning their peculiar behaviour. It had been almost __too easy__. Because a Tori Vega and a Jade West, together, alone, equalled __disaster__. Two personalities that impersonated the very pulling and pushing forces of nature.

 _ _But something inside of them had changed for the better;__ something in their dynamics had shifted, and it seemed as if everybody knew what was happening between them all along.

''I like this place.'' Muttered Tori, squinting at the horizon, ahead of them laid a shiny city that only provided them with noise background.

''Me too,'' was the reply of the pale girl whose hand was protecting her eyes from the implacable sunlight that so adamantly was trying to peel through her barriers so to __blind__ her.

Some quite loud honks and expletives could be heard in the distance; mornings were always the same. Loud and hot – and oh-so-tiresome.

''Me five!'' And, they had forgotten that a certain red-headed girl had invited herself over to their little get together on the roof.

 _ _Right__. Because it hadn't been __that__ easy to get away from their friends, after all.

''Tell me again why we let her hang out with __us__?'' Asked the Goth through gritted teeth, smiling with hypocrisy at the girl with the red-velvet hair who was none the wiser. A giggle coming from said girl corroborated the Goth's statement, seconds later.

However, the tanned girl ignored the hurtful remark and went on correcting her __other__ friend.

''Er – Cat, you skipped over the number three and four.'' Tori's soft voice promised to be an anodyne to the Goth's headache.

But calmness always came before the storm.

''Ah… I always forget about the __three__. And, don't tell anybody, but my brother stole the number four from my play mat. So I'm trying to avoid the whole ordeal.'' She cupped her right hand over her mouth as if to prevent anyone else from listening. Nonetheless, her words were slurred by her sing-song voice and hyperactive personality mingling in with her speech. ''He's really weird.'' Cat confided, in a matter-of-fact tone. Her brown eyes shining in happiness but a little frown hinted at something else – like a happy yet worried expression.

A little scream filled with frustration came rushing out of Jade's throat.

''Yeah?! Maybe he inherited it from your parents. Just like y-'' Jade's little outburst had been so unexpected, Tori didn't think twice and cut her off before she realised that were it not because they had befriended already, her body parts would be crippled and scattered everywhere.

''Oh, look! I brought a chocolate bar! Any of you would like a piece? It has crushed bits of __coffee beans__ …?'' The half-Latina gulped, hands rummaging into her bag, desperately looking for the treat.

And when she found it, she felt victorious. A big smile gracing her beautiful face.

''Sure, give me a chunk.'' Jade extended her hand towards Tori, who was gingerly unwrapping the sweet.

 _ _So proper__. Though the Goth, smirking as she took the treat that Tori had so nicely handed over to her and threw it into her mouth.

''Don't you have some bibble in there?'' Asked Cat, taking in her hands Tori's monster bag and fishing out some sweets, spreading her findings on the roof floor. ''I want bibble!'' But there was none, only chocolates, and sandwiches wrapped in aluminium foil.

''No!'' Both, Jade and Tori, shouted at the same time. Tori took her __monstrosity__ from the little girl's grip in a gentle way, and then pushed all her belongings back into her bag hastily – and what a funny sight it made. The Goth curved and eyebrow, looking amusedly at an ashamed half-Latina whose cheeks were rendered pink by the action.

Sometimes there were more alike than either of them had ever wanted to admit.

Cat pouted. But forgot almost immediately about her craving for _ _bibble__ (and the harsh response of her friends concerning __her__ less than acceptable behaviour).

''Okay! Let's practice some Spanish, shall we?'' Tori said in a mocking cowboy voice.

Eventually, long after Jade had started speaking in short mechanical sentences and Tori had helped her shape her thoughts into words, Cat chose to partake in their unprepared lesson. Showing off her terrible Spanish pronunciation and lack of actual vocabulary.

''Her pronunciation is-'' Said Jade, a derisive smirk on her face and a tone that could be interpreted as sheer __mockery.__ She had to release all of that pent-up frustration, somehow.

''Be nice!'' Chastised the Spanish speaker, shooting a glance to the sardonic girl to her right.

The Goth shot Tori a glare __that could curdle milk__ back, in this case, it only sent shivers up and down Tori's spine. __Terrifying.__

''Perfect.'' Tacked on the pale girl. ''She even sounds like a native… __from Russia speaking Portuguese__.'' Jade had muttered the last part, and a part of her was glad that Cat didn't quite hear her. The only exception was Tori, who threw a pointy look in her direction – she only shrugged off the guilt.

''Thanks, Jadey.''

Tori snickered and Jade groaned. Cat was helpless and so, so sweet it was almost painful to be sarcastic around her – or how Jade would put it, __an utter waste of quip and saliva__.

* * *

The seventh day, before going to Hollywood Arts, Tori convinced Jade that using a bus to learn Spanish wasn't that bad of an idea, of course, it wasn't easy to coerce the girl into entering the funky vehicle in the first place.

The half-Latina had even used the excuse that, that way Jade would learn important stuff like __el paso peatonal__ (or zebra crossing in English) amongst other __street-ly__ important concepts – Jade wasn't remotely amused by the pun, less when Tori's perky self, tried to entertain the Goth by using a series of overused, lame and witless jokes – and then tried to explain them.

 _ _At least the bus is empty.__ Though the pale girl as she tried to ignore her crush who was sitting right next to her, a bright smile adorning a tanned face – lightening her expression.

''Get it? Because it is __street__. __Lee__. Necessary.'' The half-Latina was slapping her legs as if they were on fire, while she laughed herself silly – and what was just a live representation of a terrible sense of humour, was in reality only an acute fit of nervous laughter.

Jade drew her brows together, closed her eyes and sighed, for extra effect. And when she reopened her eyes, she fixated her gaze so intently on the other girl she even saw her shiver.

''Congrats. You just made Robbie seem like the most normal and hilarious human __thing__ ever.'' The Goth said, flatly; while she slightly raised her right fist in a swift motion, mockingly.

 _ _Sarcasm.__ Check.

That only fuelled Tori's giggling fit further, because to the Latina, Jade looked ridiculously cute doing stuff like that. __Not that she'd tell her so.__

And, after a while, when Tori had calmed herself down and was getting comfortable again, the bus stopped at a station and picked up an enormous amount of people – too many for such a small and enclosed space.

Suddenly, both girls were pressed against one another as they fought to survive the oven-like temperatures inside the vehicle.

According to Jade's loud-voiced complaints, it had been in Tori's plans to get a group of yahoos to pack the bus and annoy her with their incessant chattering – well, __humans always are downright obnoxious.__

Nevertheless, the only good thing she got out of this experience was that Tori's breath was peppering her pale neck with soft caresses; she didn't mind that.

Heck, she didn't even threaten the girl with sewing her lips together so she would keep her breathing to herself. Actually, Jade pretended not to notice anything, altogether. However, that didn't prevent Tori from seeing Jade's red tinted cheeks from the corner of her eyes – a sight that made her heart run faster in her chest, too fast it was bumping against her chest as if her beatings were waves crashing against a shore.

The half-Latina smiled to herself. And whether Jade was blushing because of the high temperatures or their bodies pressed together, didn't matter. The pale girl was __hot__ in every sense of the word – indeed, Tori snickered at that thought, because, her puns weren't that bad, __right?__

* * *

The night before Jade's __nightmarish__ big day, both girls were studying (or more to the point, reviewing every single topic they hadn't covered, yet, for the exam) in Tori's room. It wasn't even late, however, the girls were already dead tired, almost dozing off every now and then onto the books, which now were wet with saliva.

Jade's eyes stung and Tori's drool had dried and stuck to her face in the form of one white line of slobber; despite their tiredness, both girls eventually came back to the world of the living __sleepy__ , if only with dehydrated mouths.

It took them some minutes for their brains to wake up from their __sopor__. But when their neurons snapped back to life, a full awake half-Latina rose from her bed and after hastily (and shyly due to her bad breath) asking Jade whether the Goth wanted something to drink, she headed towards the kitchen. Leaving a curious and semi-sleepy Goth turning, languidly, the pages of the __drooled-over__ book.

Nevertheless, the pale girl was never one to sit still and wait for things to happen – so she lit from the bed and walked through the purple room as she cast some yawns into the open palm that was covering her mouth.

She squinted her clear eyes, barely taking in the objects a Tori Vega could have in her room. However, she took a particular interest in some photos, old circus tickets and all sort of souvenirs that were thumbtacked to a big corkboard in the middle of a wall, right above a dark wooden desk that contained several scattered sheets, a stapler, and a curious-looking notebook.

The Goth stifled yet another yawn and took the notebook in her hands, the cover was some sort of __Pop Art collage__ of magazine clippings. And wasting no more time, she opened it right in the first page, only to grow more interested in what Tori had to say – in only seconds, she was flicking through the journal – only to find some quite interesting passages. Especially, when she found one that made her the happiest, miserable girl in the world – if only for a second.

 _ _Dear Diary... No. You know, what? Whenever I write dear diary I feel like I'm writing a letter to someone, like, you're never one to reply back, are you now, Mr. Diary? Jokes aside… I would like nothing more than to hug her, gosh, she's so strikingly beautiful. That's normal behaviour, according to the internet, towards one's friends. But what's not normal at all is that I've always wanted to have a part of Jade with me. I'm in an utterly non-creepy way, of course.__

Right after she read it, Jade's brows knitted together in confusion, but she eventually let out a squeal of excitement she quickly covered up with a fake cough. __Tori was a cute weirdo.__

 _ _Just because you say so it doesn't magically make it any less weird in, say, Sinjin's levels of creepiness, Vega. But, I'm touched.__ Thought Jade, snapping the diary shut and positioning it back to its original place right on Tori's desk. The smile never leaving her face.

However, things had definitely started to tip the scales in Jade's favour.

When Tori returned with the cold beverages in her hands and a frown on her face, Jade was distracted cutting the borders of Tori's pillows with her scissors.

''Really, Jade? My pillows?'' Asked the girl with a scowl on her face which quickly turned to a surprised expression and then into a delighted expression – a small smile graced her lips – when she saw a jump and a scared yelp coming from Jade.

 _ _At least these weren't my clothes.__ Thought a mildly relieved half-Latina. __Wouldn't bother me if she cut Trina's clothes, though. Oh, Tori, that was just plan mean.__

''Took you long enough.'' The pale girl just shrugged nonchalantly as she set her scissors onto the bed, as to turn her undivided attention towards Tori who was standing there awkwardly, like a __flamingo__ out of the water.

''Este es para ti.'' Said a tumbling Tori as she clumsily extended her hand to Jade, who took the bottle of Dr. Fizz forcefully from the tanned hand's grasp. ''You look flustered, everything alright?'' Tori resumed her talking and only stopped whenever she was going to take a sip of her own drink, till realisation fell onto her like cold water and she opened her eyes so widely her eyeballs almost fell off her eye sockets. ''You weren't snooping around in my room again without my consent, were you?'' The half-Latina squinted.

Jade put on an innocent expression and took a quick sip from the bottle – trying not to pay much attention to the accusing look on Tori's face.

''Oh, no, not really. I was just chopping up your pillows and reading…'' Jade said honestly but trailed off almost as if she was teasing the other girl. And Tori's eyes widened and they darted to her desk, fixating her gaze upon her very secret diary, if only for a second she was very scared, ''the Spanish workbook. That's all I did.'' Finished the pale girl as she pointed at the wide-open book that was in front of her – she could almost swear Tori's throat bobbed and then she heaved a sigh of relief at her answer.

Of course, that didn't deter Jade from guzzling down her fizzy drink, in order to avoid another awkward interaction for the night, the pale girl thought that, maybe, Tori would stop being suspicious of her if she started acting more like herself.

''I want another drink, now.'' She demanded while she shook the empty bottle in her hands, in front of the half-Latina's face – Tori groaned, shoulders deflating because she had just taken a seat on the edge of her purple bed and didn't plan on getting up anytime soon.

''But I just sat…'' Whined the tanned girl and bent her upper body forwards, her elbows on her knees as she placed her head between her hands – as if she was serving it on a plate. ''And I brought you one no less than a minute ago. No one can drink that fast!''

''Don't care. You're the host here, so be your __Sally-Sweet-Peaches__ -self and indulge your invitee with soda.'' Argued bad the Goth as she fixed her dishevelled hair. ''Chop chop, Vega.'' Clapped her hands, twice – hurrying Tori to get out of her __own__ room.

And Tori, being the good girl she was, got up and walked out of the room, through the doorway and down the stairs, looking for the darned __Dr. Fizz__ Jade so desired.

However, when Tori returned to her room with the drinks, she found herself alone. Quite alone. Because not even Jade's messenger bag was on her bed, not even the girl's books – nothing – nada.

She was alone.

 _ _I swear if I didn't like her that much I'd murder her, bring her back to life and then murder her again,__ thought a very wazzed off Tori when she realised that Jade was nowhere in her house, after she went out of her way looking for her – indeed, the girl had sneaked out and left without even saying a __goodbye__.

 _ _What a way to repay me.__ Tori placed the drinks on her desk. A little crease of stress forming on her forehead, because, it just wasn't fair that after all the time they've spent together as friends, Jade would still ditch her as if they were arch-foes. In Tori's mind, the girl could at least have said a proper goodbye instead of disappearing.

 _ _But that was Jade West.__

Nevertheless, when she turned around, her eyes opened immensely, because she found a little piece of paper laying on her bed – which had three little words written on it in an impeccable handwriting decorating the phrase. A __thank you__ and a __surname__ , to be more specific, were enough to make Tori's heart bounce with happiness.

 _ _Muchas gracias, Vega.__

 _ _Such a great manipulator…__ A little smile crept on her face. It was so nice to find something like that coming from the most unlikely of sources. She even forgot she was angry.

* * *

The morning before the exam, Jade was a bundle of sensitive knotted nerves. Like every day, they had met up before the sun spilled its light onto the western hemisphere. However, certain pale skinned girl had been resilient to __practicing__ before the test, because a part of her was so afraid that _ _if she saturated her brain with information__ , she'd forget everything

Thus the girls spent the hours that preceded the exam, sitting side to side on a bench with coffee in their hands, scalding hot for Jade and iceberg cold for Tori – although, no words were exchanged, whatsoever; however, a heavy mist of meaning surrounded their silence. They needn't words to express how close, how comfortable and how meaningful it was to be with __each other__.

Not that they would plead guilty of _ _that__ , out loud.

And when the first bell rang, Jade's body tensed and her viscera contorted painfully and she was sure the coffee she just drank would come back with a revenge, through her throat to the ground.

''You ready?'' Asked Tori.

 _ _No!__ Said Jade's brain, opposing itself to be subdued to any kind of modern torture device that went by the name of __Spanish test.__

''I'm always ready, duh.'' Answered the pale girl's mouth, instead, as she rolled her eyes, instinctually.

They walked in silence to the classroom, the both of them were vying different battles on their own – and Tori wanted to say something, and she couldn't find the words – Jade since she was about to enter the slaughterhouse.

''Don't forget to conjugate the verbs! And remember that __Ser__ is used when-'' The Latina found her voice, only to be cut off by her not-quite-friend.

''Who do you think I am, Cat or something? I already know all that chiz.''

'' _ _Okay…__ Good luck, then! You'll do fantastically, anyway!'' The girl almost choked on her words, because she really meant it. Then gave the pale girl her thumbs up and gave her black-clad shoulder a squeeze, trying to be supportive of the other girl – she was sure Jade __could__ do it.

''Thanks.'' Said the Goth in an uncharacteristically low voice as she entered the classroom and took a seat in the far corner of the room, right beside the window. Her pencil was already in her hand, the eraser in the other and her right foot was tapping the floor, nervously.

She waited for the teacher to submit the exam and when the woman did, her brain spun all over the place, shredding all the information and mixing the concepts up – because that's what an anxious mind does.

And when she read the first question... __For the Scissoring's sake!__ __What was the difference between Ser and Estar?__ She thought.

She only had to calm herself down, relax her brain in order to recall everything she'd learnt. In the meantime, she wrote so furiously on the paper she almost burnt it down in flames. Surprisingly, Jade West was writing down everything she could remember, at the moment.

Eventually, something in her brain clicked as if she had relocated a dislocated memory. And she smiled a big smile – maybe things would go her way now.

 _ _Maybe.__ But, really, __what was the difference between these verbs__?


	3. A Fine Fin

_**Disclaimer:**_ _Revisit the first chapter for further information on how_ _I own nothing_ _._

 **-3-**

She barely heard the minute knock at the door and with lazy determination, walked over to the door and opened it in languidness. However, she squinted so as to make sense of the view she was granted with, and suddenly everything clicked into place as her half-asleep mind chose to wake up at the moment. Tori honestly couldn't hide the big smile that took all over her face when she recognised the person at the other side of the threshold.

 _ _Jade.__

Nevertheless, the Goth didn't push her way into the house at first, and the half-Latina was left to wonder what had happened to get the girl in such a weird __state of being__ that didn't quite characterise the blue-eyed girl.

The black-clad girl plodded to the couch and sat there, unblinking and unresponsive to her surroundings. She looked a real gothic mess, and seemed as if her soul had been sucked out of her body; there was no resemblance between that __being__ and the abrasive personality of her __friend__.

Tori was certain that something terrible had befallen the Goth, her nerves turning into knots, her heartstrings constricting and turning leaden inside her chest, making it difficult to drag some air to her lungs.

''Jade,'' was Tori's soft, breathy voice that broke the silence. A heavy breath was the only answer she received in exchange for her queries. ''Jade!'' She repeated, more forcefully, in a more entrained voice – slightly panicking. ''What's wrong!? Did something bad happen __to you__?'' She moved closer to the other girl and knelt in front of her, snapping her fingers in the other girl's face as she tried to get Jade's attention. ''Answer me...!''

A sigh escaped the, tightly, pressed lips of the Goth as her lashes fluttered against her skin, slightly.

''I need - I really need to know.'' Muttered the black-haired girl to herself moments before she stood up again and shook her head as if she were confused. ''No, it's stupid. Never mind…'' She said to Tori and made her way back to the door. A completely weird reaction in Tori's eyes, as the half-Latina launched herself to the door so as to prevent the Goth from leaving.

''What? Tell me! We're friends now, aren't we? We can talk about anything, right?'' Panic had risen in Tori's soft voice, tainting it with so many layers of colourful emotions. Such expressive eyes showing nothing but pure concern towards her __friend.__

A minute of silence passed between the two till a sigh gave away to the beginning of a conversation; blue eyes searching brown's, pale skin overheating and frowns burrowed being the first signs of __surrender__.

''I – I… chiz, Vega. I need to know what the difference between the verbs Ser and Estar is! The uncertainty is killing me!''

And as suddenly as the worry had come it was gone, as laughter took its rightful place, bubbling carelessly in the half-Latina's throat. And, Tori cackled, mostly, out of relief due to the absurdity of the situation. And then laughed louder and louder, and, eventually, she calmed, her shaking belly and vibrating larynx, down.

Nevertheless, a frown rapidly took a hold on her face as she the whole situation stopped being funny altogether; because it had been more of an anxious laughing fit.

''You scared me half to death!'' She hissed as she walked to her sofa and sat; almost petting with her hands, the unoccupied space to her right, so Jade would sit at her side.

Jade blinked, confused by Tori's dualistic, swiftly behaviour _ _.__ A sneer slithering on her pale visage, every bit of worry had morphed to wariness, but she complied and took a seat in the other part of the sofa, far away from Tori who looked at her with a mock hurt expression – a black, irked eyebrow was the only answer to such a childish behaviour.

''I thought something terrible had happened to you.'' Muttered the tanned girl through her clenched teeth, closed lips and cemented jaw; but her stiff attitude didn't last but a mere seconds before her eyes softened and her lips curled into a small smile. ''Couldn't you look it up on the Internet anyway?'' She rolled her eyes, playfully.

''No, I couldn't.'' Muttered the Goth as if stating the obvious, a little sneer slithering on her face. ''You're way more reliable than a dictionary.'' A little lie, another sham coming from her mouth. After all, Jade had only wanted to be near the half-Latina once again. ''But if you want me to go...'' She trailed off, already predicting the half-Latina's response to her tauntings.

''No, no, no! Stay, stay!'' Came in the form of a very weird outburst; and Tori's face darkened in bright scarlet, completely ashamed of herself. After all, she realised right away how lovelorn, needy and childish she had sounded. ''I'll tell __you__ … __but__ , what about my __reward__?'' The half-Latina wriggled her eyebrows as she dragged some of the syllables, trying to fight off the blush that had taken all over her visage.

''I haven't even seen my grade yet!''

Tori lifted her index finger to make a witty remark but dropped it immediately as her shoulders relaxed; she was to never fight against Jade's logic if she wanted to keep some semblance of honour.

''You got a point there.'' The half-Latina grinned.

''Always,'' was the haughty response of the Goth, and after a minute of comfortable silence and growing uncertainty, she spoke again, almost in a hiss. ''So, are you going to tell me or keep me dwelling in expectation?'' A cocked eyebrow accompanied her statement.

Tori grinned again, and shook her head from side to side, amused; and told Jade about the difference between both verbs with a perennial smile on her face, almost no taking in the Goth's worried facial expression – the girl was too good a thespian, masking her fright while her dark heart bumped painfully against her chest, so fast, so mighty and yet so weak. The pale girl only hoped she had gotten the answers right.

Later that night, Tori learnt about Jade's strange obsession with mangoes, as the thespian had the Latina going to the nearest store in order to buy some fruits _ _-__ not that Tori had minded at all; her only qualm was, _ _will Jade still be waiting for me when I get back__?

Indeed, the Goth was, allegedly, waiting for the mangoes and nothing more. However, that was another lie through her teeth, and Tori caught on that only to smile to herself.

* * *

The day of the great __high school__ judgement had finally come. It had been three tortuous days since she took the test and the grades were to be published that very morning; her body was shivering and she was feeling so anxious – she was more worried about disappointing the tanned girl with a bad grade than failing the subject.

So, there she was, standing before the terrifyingly insentient, bulletin board; her hands still shaking slightly; while, her eyes skimmed over the long list of names as she guided her pointer finger languidly right to her last name, pinpointing it in a matter of seconds.

A big __-A__ was written right beside her name and she had to double-take at the grade to believe it herself. She did it. And with that realisation, she let out an almost way too girlish squeal of excitement from her mouth; of course, at least she didn't do that weird dance Andre does whenever he gets an A in something.

And when she turned around, with a big smirk plastered on her face, she came chest to chest with the one and only Tori Vega who had a chiz-eating grin all over her pretty face – it was as if she was showing off her pearly teeth and chocolatey breath.

They had been inseparable as thick as thieves during those days of waiting; Tori encouraging Jade to believe in herself and Jade pretending not to enjoy the half-Latina's presence – they both knew that was not the case. The Goth never told Tori about her little __worries about her skills__ \- lest the Latina would laugh at her for saying that __she was not scatter-brained like Cat__ ; however, that was another irrational fear of hers - after all, Tori wouldn't make fun of her.

''I knew you were going to do it! Now, I want my prize…'' The half-Latina rubbed her hands together so as to warm them up, and then she opened her arms in the most inviting fashion there was.

''I got an __A__ __minus__ , not an __A plus__ … so, the deal's off.'' Tori frowned and her smile fell because it was obvious that Jade was totally making these rules up at the spur of the moment. And she was about to argue back when Jade tacked on. ''However... I'm feeling really __altruistic__ today.'' The pale girl took a tantalising step forward. ''So, instead of a hug… I'm going to give you something you've always yearned for.''

 _ _A kiss?__ A flicker of hope invaded Tori's head as the once dormant butterflies in her stomach started to flutter their wings in a frenzied fashion. She just hoped it was the __love butterflies__ and not another cramp.

The tanned girl looked at her expectantly, but nothing came, so she cocked an eyebrow and smiled sheepishly; then Tori raised her hands, palms facing upward, as she shrugged as if saying '' _ _well?''__ in a cute fashion.

''Not here, doofus! Give me your wrist.'' And history repeated itself, a whiney tanned girl was dragged to their very secret (but not quite secret) place, a door was thrown open and then sonorously closed behind them; some steps were taken forward and backwards and suddenly, everything seemed realer, more physical and more terrifying than ever.

The half-Latina didn't realise how close the Goth was till it was too late for her to escape or move or do anything more than staring stupidly at the smaller girl; pale hands were massaging tense and tanned shoulders while hot minty breath caressed the tip of her perky nose. The ever so small space in the Janitor's closet seemed to have contracted and the once cold morning seemed to have turned into a sweltering afternoon.

''Close your eyes, I'm sure you're going to love this.'' Her brown eyes fluttered shut, and Tori could almost picture her lenses dilating behind her closed eyelids as her breathing started to come in small gasps, her chest rising frantically – she could smell Jade's perfume, and she loved every second of it.

 _ _Don't trust Jade West!__ Screamed her mind, but her heart dared to say otherwise.

And suddenly, she felt something pressing gently against her open lips; something hard and cold, and when she poked the tip of her tongue so to taste it, she found herself making out with something very cold that had a certain metallic taste to it.

''A… pair of scissors?'' Asked the Latina when she reopened her eyes. Disappointment was written in big letters all over her face. Needless to say, Jade was utterly amused by her reaction, so she let out a snort that later became a laugh.

Tori thought she had just been made fun on, and it hadn't been a very nice _ _feeling__.

''Good to know your eyes are working all right.'' Her sardonic words tearing Tori's hope apart. But the small playful eye rolling she got from Jade made her heart bounce and leapt. Because, Jade West, the big bad evil witch was being kind of flirty with her. ''Plus, it's not __any__ pair of scissors. It's my fifth favourite pair.''

Jade gave her space, as she leaned against the door.

''That's… lovely?'' Tori couldn't stand being so close and feeling so far away from Jade, anymore; she had that fervent need to touch the pale girl, have her in her arms. ''Can I… – Can I?'' The tanned girl took various steps forward, wondering whether she will be given the things and the opportunity she oh-so wants.

''Gee, Vega. Don't ask, just go for it.'' She rolled her eyes yet the fine line of her mouth curved into a smile. One of those unusual and only reserved to __special people__ kind of smile.

And that she did. The Latina pushed the Goth against the door and locked their lips together in a fiery and frantic kiss. At first, the pale girl paled and didn't return the kiss, but past the shock, only seconds later, she started moving her lips to match the ever so fiery make-out session.

 _ _Delicious.__ Thought the pale girl as she breathed in Tori's __coffee__ scented breath; not only did it smell of her favourite drink, her mouth tasted like it too. Had it been possible, she would've drank the tanned girl's soul thoroughly.

Tori on the other hand, was having the greatest time of her life – because mint and coffee did go well together. It was her new favourite flavour, and the tanned girl made a mental note to ask for minty coffee whenever she returned to Jet Brew.

But happiness in paradise was short-lived. Because after a while, Jade pushed Tori away, separating their perfectly melded lips from one another. Despite her actions, the pale girl wasn't angry at the half-Latina; nevertheless, she didn't enjoy surprises – and she didn't like not having the upper hand or total control of the situation.

But she had loved the kiss.

''What the heck was that!?'' Asked a dazzled black-haired beauty when the Latina broke the kiss to breathe in some huge gulps of air since her head was getting lighter from the lack of oxygen. ''I thought you were going to ask for a __hug__!'' She almost cussed her mind for saying such an idiotic thing, of course. She was panicking.

Jade was almost hyperventilating; it had been an exhilarating experience.

''Oh, right. The hug.'' Said the half-Latina, her throat bobbed nervously with each syllable. ''Sorry.'' Tori Vega softly added; but honestly, she wasn't _ _sorry__ let alone ashamed in any possible way. If you will, she was feeling very completely happy and alive for once. And, at the same time, she was truly scared for the possible outcome of her reckless actions.

 _ _What if Jade doesn't want to talk to me ever again?__ She thought, her numbed mind waking up from the kiss induced fog. And, she panicked too; her eyes opened to ridiculous proportions and her throat and mouth dried and peeled like old wallpaper in her insides. It hurt. Even her skin felt constrictive, and she wanted to peel it off of herself.

She also wanted to cry, and in the spur of the moment she only desired to run away and shelter herself under the covers of her bed. The tanned girl made to go, she moved way too quickly and reached doorknob in two strides. In her panicky state of mind, she didn't realise someone was holding onto her arm for dear life, as a result both girls ended up yanking their arms towards two completely different directions at the same time.

On the one hand, Jade groaned because Tori's strength had been unexpected and herewith painful. Tori, on the other hand, whined because she didn't want to deal with the product of her foolhardy actions.

''I'm sorry. Please, don't kill me.'' Pleaded the tanned girl, her free arm raised above her face so as to protect her eyes and nose from the impending pain. Of course, she was overreacting, behaving like an utter tragedienne.

Basically, nothing happened. Instead, her arm was delivered from Jade's mighty grip as an unexpected chuckle reached Tori's ears; it was a strange sound coming from the unlikeliest of sources, Jade West's pharynx.

''Won't kill you… just… __I read your diary!__ '' She blurted out, fessing up her treacheries. ''And, this may sound like an outrageous exposé, but, I sort of __don't dislike__ you as much as I've claimed to… So, you – I know you like me, I just didn't know to what extent till now. And… oh, just, come here.'' Said the Goth with a breathy voice as she fisted her hands in deadly grip on Tori's shirt, bringing the sexy Latina to her, once again.

Their noses brushed and their breaths mingled. Something in the air changed winds; the electric charge between their bodies seemed to have been raised as the hairs in their forearms raised. Their hearts skipped beats as expectation consumed their souls. Had tension been a more palpable concept in their surroundings, it'd have been easy to cut out with a blade. And with glazing eyes they stared into each other's souls.

''Wait, you like __like__ me?'' was all the half-Latina could articulate with her husky voice and aquiver lips. Jade couldn't help rolling her eyes, __maybe Tori was deaf or something__.

Their lips fused together in another heated kiss, every cell in their bodies was awakened from their sopor to enjoy the chain reaction of newly discovered sensations, in their bodies; from the road of goosebumps on their skin to the small little bursts of nuclear fusion inside their chests.

Tori's fingertips were digging painlessly into clad flesh, gripping Jade by the waist; keeping her in place. Soft muffled sounds came rushing out Jade's throat as a slippery tongue made its way into her mouth, playing a game without rules, fighting a war of wills.

Jade's pale hands were all over Tori's shoulders and neck, scratching, grasping and touching everything they could get their fingers on – marking the half-Latina as Jade's property.

At some point, Tori pressed her forehead gently against Jade's as she pulled apart from the kiss – because she needed to take some oxygen into her lungs – and gasped heavily as an ashine smile formed on her face, her teeth at full display surrounded by her reddened lips.

Jade's eyes were closed still and her pale cheeks were tinted with deep red, brows furrowed and lips still open, gasping for air, too.

''Podría hacer esto por el resto de mi vida.'' Muttered the half-Latina dreamily, they were still touching each other, lips only an inch apart. Because at that precise moment, she was so sure she wanted to kiss Jade for the rest of her life. Of course, taking little breaks between each kiss, so as to build a family and eat pizza.

 _ _Being loved – or, liked back is amazing.__ Thought the half-Latina happily as she licked her lips, looking directly into the blue-green eyes of the girl in front of her.

Jade growled, demanding without words to be kissed again the moment when her dazzled mind realised that Tori's lips weren't on hers to assuage her desire, anymore. The half-Latina wasted no time to comply when she leaned in to land a series of pecks on the pale girl's mouth before catching between her teeth the soft and luscious lips of her black-haired lover.

Being in love with Jade, on the other hand, was hard. But her heart could deal with it; that she knew. And, Jade, was not angry at Beck anymore. Because, at the end of the day, she had been the undisputable winner. Hence, she was _ _the Jade who got the cream__ , and the actress who got the girl.

''I've been wanting to do that for eons now! I can't believe you're m-'' Tori had wanted to say __mine__ so badly, but she knew Jade wouldn't appreciate her choice of words, so she bit her tongue to repress any further utterance. ''I- I can't believe we're dating now.'' Said, instead.

However, a cruel laugh came rushing out of Jade and Tori paled as if every pint of blood in her system had been drained.

 _ _Did I misjudge the whole situation?__ Wondered a flabbergasted half-Latina.

''We're not dating __yet__ , you dimwit!'' Muttered the pale girl while she took some steps back, withdrawing from Tori's embrace. Her skin glimmered under the artificial light and the tanned girl was mesmerised; however her enchantment faded away when Jade took in her right hand the doorknob and turned it, opening the door in a silent fashion.

Tori sighed, deeply, eyelids sliding down and nostrils flaring in exponential anger.

''Try being ingenious when asking me out, though. I hate predictable.'' Finished Jade as she graced Tori with an amiable wink – the half-Latina had opened her eyes and was looking at Jade, shocked. Right away the pale girl left the place, walking languidly to __nowhere__ in particular.

Unsurprisingly, she had managed to insult Tori even when they were beyond animosity. Even though they weren't walking on the fine and dangerous line between love and hate. After all, they were a pair of something akin to friends who were __almost in love__ with one another. Nevertheless, that didn't mean Jade West was going to change her ways to please Tori who, at the end of the day, wouldn't have her girl any other way.

 _ _She's already so... er - mine.__ Thought the tanned girl, recovering her smile back as she followed Jade down the corridor, a faint blush colouring her cheeks, while zillions of ideas on how to __sweep Jade off her feet__ were already forming on her mind. Of course, not before she closed quietly the door to the Janitor's closet.

It was their secret place, and she was no one to share what was hers, either.

''Well, all's well that ends well.'' Tori recited to herself with a frown that was slowly turning into a grin. Because, how accurate that phrase rang in her ears, at the moment. ''Wait, Jade! Wait! You promised to give me a ride home!'' She said with sudden realisation when the physical distance between them grew too big.

However, emotionally, they've had never felt closer to each other.

The Goth stopped in her tracks, a smile was playing on her lips while she waited for the other girl to catch her breath and fall into step with her.

 _ _''Oh, I promise to give you much... so much more than that.__ '' Muttered the pale girl to herself, words never meant to other ears but her own. And, with a chiz-eating grin on her face, she extended her hand towards the flustered, tired half-Latina who gladly took the cold hand in hers as they intertwined their fingers in a messy knot of sheer dichotomy.

 ** ***Not quite their end, but: The End.**** *

By Nephthys of Irkalla.


End file.
